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F Grade and Smooth.

I find it remarkable that Faber-Castell can make a hard-ish pencil that is at the same time as smooth as a soft pencil. This F grade Castell 9000 is great on Baron Fig paper, with Point Durability and glide to spare. Matthias writes about F grade pencils frequently, and I’ve come to appreciate this semigrade, #2 1/2 or #2.5 (etc. — each manufacturer used to have their own number for it). We made a whole episode about it on Erasable, in case you missed it. What are some other great F grade pencils?

Last fall, I was in an antique store in Bryan, TX and behind the counter was a cup full of used pencils. I recognized a familiar shaped ferrule and asked to see it. It was and Eberhart Faber Van Dyke 601 in F. I offered the owner $2 for it and he said “for a used pencil?”, but he took my money.

Last fall, I was in an antique store in Bryan, TX and behind the counter was a cup full of used pencils. I recognized a familiar shaped ferrule and asked to see it. It was an Eberhart Faber Van Dyke 601 in F. I offered the owner $2 for it and he said “for a used pencil?”, but he took my money.